Hey everyone, thanks to all of those who have read my story so far, I truly appreciate it. It is now starting to pick up a lot and hopefully our favorite hanyou will be reawaken in one of the next few chapters.
Chapter 9: Tears and Hope
Was it the seemingly placid yet beautiful mood, which had always called him here? Perhaps it was how the creatures of the sea and land seemed to dance in a rhythm of elegant sympathy? Yes, these things were factors to his coming but they were not the honest reason. He buried his feet deeper into the sand as he began to further lean back in his sitting position. Gently the water lapped at his feet, it was quite refreshing to say the least. His hands and arms supported his leaning, behind him, as he gazed into the clear crisp night. It was not entirely clear, for his gaze was focused on the rising moon in the dark sky. The moon always shined the brightest on the water here, in its fullest phase. Its' reflection upon the water was almost too breathtaking to be comprehended.
Arashi had just begun retelling the story of the night of Kagome's injury to Kasumi and herself. It was one he reluctantly told, recalling all of the events that had happened that night.
It had been for what it seemed like eons since Arashi felt remotely relaxed. For some reason this beach always seemed to help ease his worry and wash away his pain. It was a fairly decent sized beach which stopped to his right when a cliff abruptly jutted out from the hilly area behind. He was not all alone tonight; on the cliff he sensed a miko and perhaps a half-demon. First he had worried for the miko's safety but that left him when he heard her soft compassionate voice talking to him. It seemed like they could be lovers and for some reason, he could tell the hanyou cared deeply for her as well. Laying back into the warm sand, Arashi began to ponder upon his own love. His family had taken a maiden in when her parents, dragons, were slaughtered in a fierce battle.
Arashi's blood was that of a dragon as well as sea serpent. Although many people tend to misunderstand what it truly means to have this blood. Dragons are not demons but different creatures all together. Sent by the gods to flourish the good, destroy evil, and balance the differences of humans and demons; they often appeared in times of war to make things right. They were there to help the good of all races but in time some began to become corrupt with the power they had been given. Over time humans put a label on all dragons as blood thirty, power hungry, maiden stealing creatures, and they were all termed demons for their behavior. Only three known dragons remained; Arashi, his mother, and his love; Kasumi.
Arashi and Kasumi became the best of friends and in time he felt a new kind of love blossom for her. He never was really sure of her feelings for him, but he had always figured they were not the same.
Kasumi, I wish you were with me on this lovely night. How I have missed your smile, your fire, your compassion, your voice; just you. Hopefully I will be able to see you tomorrow.
Arashi had been sent on a mission by the king and queen of Shaimi to establish a trade of goods with the Lord of the Southern lands.
"His parents are the King and Queen", interrupted Kasumi. "So he is often negotiating and discussing all kinds of politics."
"Wow, so then you are the Prince of Shaimi?" asked Kagome.
"Yes, it's really hard at times because I am away so much", said Arashi. "But now I am finally back."
The Southern Lord eagerly agreed to the proposition and had even requested Arashi to stay at his castle for a few weeks but that was over now and he was returning home. Slowly Arashi drifted off into a blissful sleep thinking of Kasumi right before he shut his eyes. His sleep was interrupted when the strong smell of blood abruptly hit his nostrils. Arashi shot up and realized the blood was coming from the woman on the cliff. He rushed toward the cliff and began to jump up upon its rocks, but a sudden force of wind took the dragon off guard and he was sent flying down into the sand.
What the…?
Quickly looking up upon the cliff he was just climbing, he saw a she-demon standing upon one of its ledges with a fan in hand.
"I can not let you through, what goes on up there can not be interrupted," said the demon.
Arashi growled. "I command you to let me through demon."
"I am Kagura, the wind sorceress, and you can not order to do anything", she snarled.
Kagura sent a gust of air swiftly at Arashi but he quickly jumped to the right avoiding the attack. More gushes of wind were hurled at Arashi, picking up the sand all around. The Prince avoided all of them but he could not seem to get to the cliff.
"Let me through," growled Arashi once again.
"As I have told you before, I take orders from no demon."
"You are under some one's control, are you not? So what you say contradicts yourself."
Kagura sent a stronger gust of wind at Arashi, but quickly dodge it once again.
"You are like the wind Kagura, but there is a fan that controls you" stated Arashi.
"Who the hell are you?" hissed Kagura
Arashi did not bother to reply, he sprinted towards the cliff.
"Suit yourself bastard. DANCE OF THE DRAGONS!"
Arashi stopped suddenly as he watched three tornados quickly approach him. He began to chuckle slightly which caused a fearful feeling to fill Kagura's chest.
"Anrokku!" shouted Arashi.
A bright white light engulfed him which quickly disappeared soon after. The human form of Arashi was now gone and his true form replaced himself instead. There stood an ice blue dragon, tall as the tree tops and long as a village. His scales gleamed off the light of the moon giving him a silvery mystical look. Arashi dug his whitish claws into the sand and swung back his massive tail which had a few blue feathers at the end. As the tornados approach in front of him he swung his tail which caused them to disappear instantly.
"I have the blood of a dragon, did you honestly think something such as that would hurt me," He said with his mouth unmoving.
Arashi quickly adverted his eyes to the cliff to spy the hanyou gripping the miko by the neck. Her feet limply hung over the cliff's edge and he knew the hanyou was going to drop her. Although the miko was not unconscious yet she was inches away from death, and that drop would probably kill her. Suddenly the hanyou threw the miko over the cliff and the rocks below. The sharks had already began swarming, smelling the blood that had dripped down from the cliff.
"Inuyasha!" the young miko managed to call out.
Luckily the sea serpent had dove into the ocean in time. He was able to scope the miko inside his mouth, allowing her to still breathe and swam towards Shaimi at lightening speed.
"Inuyasha…"stated Kagome slowly, bringing remembrance by just saying the name herself.
How could I have forgotten my hanyou. No, he tried to kill m. He called me a worthless, pathetic, a bitch.
She began to cry, bawl in better words. Her body shook with uncontrollable throbs as the pain of despair and sorrow returned to her chest like she had upon her awakening. The difference was, it here to stay.
"He could.. he couldn't have. After everything we have gone through together. I do not believe it.. Inuyasha"
Kasumi began to hug the girl as she cried further more into her chest. Kagome felt sick, stupid, pathetic, insignificant, and hopeless.
Something snapped into her head though as she remembered Arashi's story.
Kagura
"Arashi," Kagome said weakly as she peered out of Kasumi's embrace. "Why did Kagura say she was there?"
"She never did say but I think she had orders from someone."
"It was not Inuyasha. It was not him," said Kagome with a slight smile on her face.
She brushed her fallen tears and began to sit up.
"Kagome, I saw him do it to you though, Inuyasha threw you off the cliff."
"I.. I don't think it was him and my heart does not want to believe it either.
All of those moments with him, where he was so gentle and compassionate, showing a side no one had ever seen, accept Kikyo of course. He must have thought it was her those times or imagined it was. Only Kagura was there, Naraku was sure to be involved in some way. She has never showed any harmed towards us unless she was under his or Kaguya's orders.
"I just don't know. I can't believe it's him but I am so unsure."
Kasumi hugged her friend tighter. "Kagome it is going to be ok I promise. We will help you through this and we will come back with you to the mainland to find Inuyasha and your friends."
"Thanks Kasumi, but I think I might want to go alone. I don't know. I am sorry."
"Kagome there is more to tell you, but I will tell you a different time if you wish. It is not about Inuyasha but this does concern you," interrupted Arashi.
"It is ok. You can tell me," said Kagome quietly.
"Kagome, when I rescued you, I knew I had seen you before and I had to find out where."
"So I guess you found Kikyo, huh? I am her reincarnation," replied the miko solemnly.
Arashi looked compassionately at the girl. "No I did not find her. I found this."
From inside of his shirt, Arashi pulled out a rolled up scroll.
Hesitantly Kagome took the scroll out of Arashi's clawed hand and began to carefully unravel it. Kasumi sat anxiously beside the miko, waiting to see what it could possibly be. When the parchment was fully unraveled, the two young women were shocked to see what was on it; a painting of Kagome. It was a close up side view of her shooting a sacred arrow fiercely. The details of Kagome were exactly the same. Her brown eyes, slightly curled hair, and skinny figure. Even her emotions were captured in the single picture. She was wearing miko's clothing but it was clear it was not Kikyo.
Kagome's hand grazed the picture, "Who…who did this?"
"It looks exactly like her," added Kasumi.
"Well it was painted by a miko over a thousand years ago," said Arashi.
"A thousand years ago, how could a person know what I would look like?
"It was a prophecy made by Priestess Kareikon, which told you would be the next Keeper."
"Keeper of what?" asked Kasumi.
"The Keeper of life, of death, good, evil, heaven, earth, humans, demons, and nature; a Keeper of balance. Mikos are women of spiritual powers given to them by the gods to help the world. Priestess Kareikon was the first miko ever and around the age of 21 the gods selected her to help the entire world and keep its natural balance by being chosen to be the Keeper. Demons had viciously sought her power which resulted in her demise. She was supposedly an extraordinarily talented young woman who especially loved to paint. This painting is only part of the prophecy. If you are truly the next Keeper, there is something you need to do in order to prove yourself. I could actually take you now if you wish."
Kasumi looked infuriated, "Arashi, she just remembered about what happened to her and you want to take her to see some prophecy thing, I don't you think…"but she was interrupted by Kagome before she could finish.
"It is ok, I will go now," stated Kagome quietly.
"I am sorry Kagome. I just thought maybe it would take your mind off of things", replied Arashi who was somewhat hurt by Kasumi and his own stupidity.
It could never
"It is ok. You mean well, Arashi. Come on lets go now."
"Are you sure Kagome?" asked Kasumi kindly.
She shook her head slowly and began to climb off the bed. Silently the three walked out of the room and out of the palace towards the bamboo forest.
"A miko actually recently tried this Kagome, about 50 years ago," said Arashi breaking the silence. "Kkyo."
"Kikyo, so that means it could not be me. I am her reincarnation, we share the same soul," said Kagome desperately holding back her tears.
Kasumi stopped suddenly and looked at Kagome.
"I do not understand how the gods could ever do that. A reincarnation should have their same exact soul and remember their past life in a later time in life if the wish to do so. To share a soul, to be almost like a copy of that person is despicable."
Kagome looked down, tears ready to break.
"She still alive isn't she, Inuyasha's first love, your reincarnate?" asked Arashi slowly.
Kagome bit her lip, trying to prevent with all her might the tears from falling but they did anyway. She nodded as the first tear hit the ground. Kasumi quickly embraced the girl, letting her sob into her chest once more.
"But Kagome," replied Kasumi thoughtfully. "If you are the next Keeper then you would not be Kikyo's reincarnation."
Kagome stopped her crying.
She is right. If this work I will no longer be a worthless copy but my own spirit. People would never get me confused with her again.
Suddenly a flash back emitted through her mind.
It was Inuyasha pierced to the God tree the first time he had talked to her.
"For the last time, I am not Kikyo. I am KA-GO-ME!"
A glimpse of hope arisen in the miko's dark mind. She released herself from her friend's embrace. Kagome, Kasumi, and Arashi continued on their way, even more anxiously, to the second part of the prophecy ahead.
Lovely Winds ' Lovely Seas
Translations:
Kasumi- mist
Arashi- storm
"Anrokku"- unleash or unlock (it is how the dragons and/or sea serpents transform from their human form to true form)
Kareikon- beautiful soul